End-of-Year Promotions are A Boon for Home-Buyers Featured

Property Developers seek to make up for slow third quarter sales with promotions at upcoming Home & Condo Expo in Thailand.

Home-buyers should enjoy shopping around for property in the current quarter, a period during which all residential developers are launching special promotions to boost sales before the year draws to a close.

There is a particularly broad range of promotions this year as property firms seek to make up for a slow third quarter.

The final-quarter push and new project launches are expected to boost the 2013 residential market in greater Bangkok to 105,463 new units worth more than Bt300 billion, some 7% higher than last year, according to the Real Estate Information Centre of the Government Housing Bank.

New residential launches in Bangkok and its suburbs in the first eight months of the year came in at 299 projects comprising 81,463 units - about 10% more than in the same period last year.

Some 170 of the projects, comprising 28,982 units, are low-rise estates for detached housing, twin-houses and townhouses, and 127 projects with a combined 52,481 units are condominiums, according to a survey by the centre.

Runganand Limtongtang, deputy managing director of Sue Trong Group - and president of the "29th Home & Condo Expo", which runs from November 14-17 at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre - said residential demand in the third quarter had shown only slight growth, due to home-buyers' concerns about flooding and the political system.

While some buyers also face tighter bank restrictions on the provision of housing loans to the extent that they have had to pull out of their contracts with property firms, the three main property associations - the Business Housing Association, the Thai Real Estate Association, and the Thai Condominium Association - are confident that demand will recover in the final quarter, he said.

He added that there was continuing demand for homes located close to the mass-transit system.

During the first seven months of the year, newly registered condominium ownership in greater Bangkok comprised 39,117 units, some 7% higher than in the same period last year and 56% of the 61,486 new registrations for all types of housing in the area.

Detached-housing registrations were recorded at 15,721 units during the period, 12% lower than in the same period last year, while commercial buildings accounted for 5,713 units - up 32% - followed by 935 twin-houses, some 28% higher year on year.

Meanwhile, residential prices are likely to increase by between 5 and 10% next year, due to a more limited range of locations for building, rising land prices and higher construction-material prices, plus a worsening of the labour shortage when the government's Bt2-trillion infrastructure mega-project gains traction, said Runganand.

"For anyone planning to purchase a home, this [the final quarter] is a good period to buy as it will cost less than doing so next year," he added.

He said that up to 200 developers, both listed and non-listed, would be showcasing more than 600 residential projects comprising around 100,000 units at next week's Home & Condo Expo.

They will be offering special promotions for buyers booking homes at the event, dangling discount prices, lucky draws, free furniture and financial incentives such as zero-interest repayments for the first six months or one year.

"We believe sales value at the four-day event will hit Bt3 billion, with more than 100,000 visitors to the show," he said.

Vittakarn Chandavimol, AP (Thailand)'s chief marketing officer, strategic marketing, said the company would offer discounts of up to Bt700,000 and a waived transfer fee for home-buyers making a reservation during the event.

Meanwhile, the company will also open three new townhouse and condominium projects - the Plano Tiwanond-Changwattana, Pleno Pinklow-Ring Road and COO South-Pattaya - with a special promotional campaign at the show.

The move is aimed at boosting presales to the full-year target of Bt20 billion, he said.

Corporate campaigns

Besides the Home & Condo Expo, most property firms will also hold special events and promotional campaigns over the remainder of the year, as they seek to boost final-quarter sales to make up for the drop in demand from July to September.

For example, Property Perfect is holding two events this month. The first is the "Perfect Condo Showcase 2013", which runs until Sunday at CentralWorld Ratchadamri.

The event showcases six existing condominium projects and four new ones, together worth more than Bt20 billion. The developer is offering discounts of up to Bt200,000 per unit and gift vouchers for furniture worth Bt50,000, among other incentives.

The other Property Perfect event is "Ready 2 Move In", which takes place from November 19 to 24 at two condominium projects: the Metro Ramkamhaeng-Ring Road and the Metro Pattanakarn-Srinakarin.

The event features a special interest rate of 2% for the first two years from Krung Thai Bank and Thanachart Bank for anyone deciding to buy a unit at either of the projects during the six-day period.

The company expects the two events to boost presales to the full-year target of Bt14 billion.

Sena Development, meanwhile, is running a joint promotional campaign with CIMB (Thai) by offering a financial package that supports customers' monthly instalments for up to 10 years out of a normal 30-year contract.

The package applies to purchases at any of its eight residential projects and is seen by the company as a significant cost-saving incentive for home-buyers.

Sena targets sales of up to Bt600 million from the promotion.

Sansiri has just completed a month-long "123 Make Your Move" from October 5 to November 5, during which it offered discounts of up to Bt1 million per unit, a waived transfer fee and free furniture worth up to Bt500,000, depending on the size and cost of a home.

Pruksa Real Estate is currently running the "Super Deal" campaign by offering discounts of up to Bt1 million for customers buying a detached house under its Scenery, The Season and Delight brands this coming weekend.

All of these end-of-year promotions are a boon for home-buyers, especially considering that housing prices are expected to rise next year.